LIV Golf targets Las Vegas for February event

LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed breakaway tour that has fractured professional golf, is targeting Las Vegas for a tournament in February on its 2024 schedule.

Las Vegas Country Club is the anticipated location for the tournament.

The event could be held the same weekend as the Super Bowl, on Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium, according to a report in Sports Illustrated.

“I cannot confirm it now, however it is true that LVCC is in discussion with LIV Golf hosting the event in February 2024,” general manager Jin Yoon wrote in an email.

Officials from LIV Golf did not respond to requests for comment.

The tour has not released its 2024 schedule, in part because negotiations of a merger with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour are ongoing and the future of LIV Golf as a separate tour remains unclear. Officials announced an agreement in June for the parties to merge and set a Dec. 31 deadline to work out details.

LIV Golf rocked the golf world when it started play in June 2022, poaching several PGA Tour stars such as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson with massive signing bonuses and tournaments offering $25 million purses. Players who left for the circuit have been banned from playing any PGA Tour events as a result.

Talor Gooch, who won one time during five years on the PGA Tour, was the top player in 2023 for LIV Golf, earning in excess of $35 million.

Adding Las Vegas to the LIV Golf schedule would be a departure for the circuit, which has avoided playing tournaments in locations that host PGA Tour events. The Shriners Children’s Open has been a staple of Las Vegas for 40 years.

Located just east of the Strip, Las Vegas Country Club has been open since 1967 and hosted PGA Tour events in the 1980s and LPGA Tour events from 2003 to 2006.

Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. Reach him at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.